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Final Frontier (episode)
| Word Length = | Author = Gina L. Dartt | Beta = Unknown | In-Universe Timeline = | Previous Episode = Chaotic Cruise | Next Episode = | Previous in Canon = | Next in Canon = }} Summary Captain Kathryn Janeway is called to the Epsilon Six Starbase, a top secret starbase orbiting an obscure planet named Forever World. The starbase monitors, studies and protects the being known as The Guardian of Forever. She is ordered by Starfleet to place a cylinder inside a snowdrift on some unknown location and then quickly leave. She is told that somehow this was a predestined event and one that is part of the natural course of history. What was seemingly a simple task turned out to have a huge impact on history. The cylinder was actually a transport booster and Janeway had placed it upon the icy world of Tau Ceti Prime. There it allowed a much younger Kathryn Janeway to save both her father and her fiancé Justin Tighe in the Tau Ceti Prime shuttle accident that claimed their lives in the unchanged timeline. In the new timeline, Vice Admiral Edward Janeway helps to create peaceful negotiations with the Cardassians, negating the Dominion War. Justin and Kathryn got married as they had planned and have a young son named Eddie. Due to the Temporal Prime Directive Janeway is forced to play the role of Kathryn Tighe, first officer and chief science officer of captain Justin Tighe on his ship, the USS Voyager. It leaves Janeway in a life she has no memories off with a family she does not know. The last twenty years of her life have, in a sense, not occurred. Seven is forced to remain behind at the space station since the history of Seven of Nine or Annika Hansen is unknown in this timeline. If she leaves the protective shielding of the Forever World there is no telling what might happen to her. The space station is all that protects her from the timeline, which might override her identity with the actual Seven from that timeline or might even erase her from history altogether if she never existed. The Voyager crew is ordered by Starfleet to resume their normal duties and leave the Forever World to attend to their next mission. Janeway at first wishes to remain behind with Seven but both Seven and the Epsilon Six personnel urge her to leave and play her part. A distraught Seven says goodbye and leaves Janeway with the cryptic response that when Voyager leaves orbit "It will take care of itself". Janeway quickly becomes very unsatisfied with the way her existence in the new timeline has progressed. Her marriage with Justin is something in which she finds she cannot hold up pretenses. She avoids being alone with her husband and thus begins to spend a great deal of time with her son Eddie and her father. The boy turns out to love the arts, but to her horror Janeway discovers that she and Justin have steadfastly discouraged Eddie from pursuing his interests. Apparently in this timeline she never managed to reconcile with her sister Phoebe because they never bonded over the death of their father. Therefore the Janeway in this timeline always continued to look down at any form of art. She and Justin much preferred to force Eddie to focus on sciences in his schooling. Eddie is also treated quite harshly by his father every time the boy appears to stray from the path his father has laid out for him. Janeway argues with Justin to change this. But Janeway also dislikes the missions Voyager routinely undertakes, which include little to no exploring or science. She once again begins to long for command, especcially a command of her own. Justin at first mocks the idea that Janeway wants her own command but soon realizes she is being serious. He desperately attempts to reconcile with her, promising to treat her and Eddie better. At this point Janeway realizes that she is losing all her memories of the previous timeline and has already forgotten most of it. The current timeline is overwriting her memories to coincide with the events of that timeline. Thus removing all trace of it. Janeway begins to respond to Justin, once again seeing in him the man she once loved, losing all touch with Seven. She finally understands the cryptic message Seven send her off with. In a last one ditch desperate attempt to prevent all this she sends an encoded message to Seven. She explains to Seven that the device she buried on Tau Ceti Prime was a transporter booster, which means that this new timeline is a direct result of her interference, not a natural predestined event. She urges Seven to find out the truth and somehow correct what has happened. Seven rejoices that Janeway is still trying to cling to her memory. Determined she sets off on a plan to find out the truth of the situation. She asks the Epsilon Six chief scientist if she may try and determine the fate of the Borg, who, without the interference of Janeway in the Borg/Species 8472 War were most likely destroyed in this timeline. This is however a ruse, Seven intends to access the Guardian to restore the timeline. She pretends to wish to learn the fate of her counterpart in this timeline because if the Seven of this reality is dead she then could rejoin the rest of the galaxy. The scientists at the base agree to let her, only to learn the horrid truth of this timeline. The Borg have not been defeated, far from it. The Borg had done that which they do best: adapt. At the very last moment they managed to discover a way to assimilate Species 8472. Now empowered by their new biologically based technology and under the leadership of their new queen One of Many, the Seven of this timeline who was groomed for the position, are laying waste to the Delta Quadrant. Breaking all protocol Seven asks the Guardian what this will mean for the Federation. It reveals that in five years the Borg will assimilate the Federation and literally wipe them all out. This is much to the shock of the Epsilon Six personnel and at this point it becomes clear that this whole situation was caused by Starfleet attempting to use the Guardian to prevent the great loss of life by the Dominion War. Seven sardonically notes that it worked, fewer will die in this timeline, they will simply all be assimilated. One of the base scientists, Sporn, understands and explains to the others that this timeline is a paradox created by Starfleet rather than prevented. They counter argue that this is only about Seven wishing to reunite with Janeway. Seven makes no attempt to deny it, and states it is a personal advantage and that she found the fate of the Federation to be "irrelevant", clearly meaning she had meant to use the Guardian regardless of what it had said. Now she simply had a real justification to do so. Seven enters the Guardian and directs it to take her to Tau Ceti Prime twenty minutes after Janeway placed the device there. She destroys it but remains long enough to witness the utter anguish of a much younger Janeway struggle to save both Justin and her father, but ultimately failing to save either. As she exists the Guardian Seven is confronted with a restored timeline once more. Janeway is there, furious and upset. She demands that she and Seven are allowed to leave and that Starfleet cleans up this mess on their own. They are now both left with the pain and guilt of what as transpired. Seven truly regrets having caused Janeway to lose her son and her father. It does pain Janeway but she explains that Eddie never truly existed, but as a figment of what might have been and furthermore her father has been dead for over twenty years. Janeway however is pained to see what Seven was willing to endure so that she might have a life in the other timeline. The two come out stronger than ever and Janeway is once again reassured of her need to be in command of a ship. Back on Earth Seven manages for the first time to reconnect with her mother, Erin Hansen. There is good hope that Erin will one day make an at least partial recovery. But Janeway and Seven have little time to celebrate before they are contacted by Ro Laren. Her wife B'Elanna Torres has finally gone into labor and Ro asks if Seven and Janeway will come support them. Fortunately B'Elanna gives birth quite fast, if a bit loudly and they all welcome Ro Miral Torres into the world. Janeway and Seven decide to spend the rest of their leave in Indiana where they intend to renew their vows. At the ceremony Janeway is happy to be with Seven and all friends and loved ones. She hopes her father is at peace, she knows that she is. Analysis General Characters Questions Memorable lines Background Information Trivia Authors Note * This is the 20th and final installment of the Millennium Series * Dedicated to all those who have hung around this long. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Links and References Main Characters * Kathryn Janeway * Seven of Nine Secondary Characters * B'Elanna Torres * Ro Laren * Zar Tulek * Justin Tighe * Eddie Tighe * Ro Miral Torres Guest Stars * Edward Janeway * Erin Hansen External Links * Final Frontier References |next= }} Category:MLN episodes